a texas tragedy as a train slams into a parade float. carry veterans and their families. former cia director david petraeus faces the fire in the benghazi terror attacks. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, november 16th, 2012. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. and the world is holding its breath this morning as tensions in the middle east reach a boiling point after days of fierce fighting between israel and gaza militants. an attempt at a brief cease fire was unsuccessful this morning and air raid sirens have gone off. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is not backing down. >> in the past 24 hours, israel has made it clear that it will not tolerate rocket and missile attacks on civilians.

nbc's martin fletcher is in tel aviv where air raid sirens were heard this morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. following up on netanyahu's threat. overnight 30,000 reserves were given potential order to report for duty overnight 16,000 soldiers were told, reserve soldiers, were told to report to their units. they will be joining army units that massed on the border of gaza. armored personnel carriers, hundreds of thousands of troops ready for ground invasion. as you suggested in introduction, a show of force or the real thing?

it's partly a show of force but could end in a ground invasion because israelis keep insisting whatever it takes they'll stop the rockets from being fired into gaza. while the egyptian president was visiting, they would hold their fire. the palestinians didn't do the same so israel resumed their rockets. there was an intense exchange. 85 rockets were fired into gaza in a period of only 45 minutes. targeting those stockpiles of weapons and long range rockets in particular. >> martin fletcher in tel aviv. thanks. >> "the new york times" reports that the obama administration has been given an assessment about what intervention in syria might require. the pentagon says a u.s. military effort to seize the stockpile of chemical weapons require upward of 75,000 troops and the "times" reports that

senior american officials are concerned that the militant group hezbollah have set up training camps near the chemical weapons depots. four people were killed in texas when a freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans. this is just terrible. the accident happened at a railroad crossing in midland, texas, as the float tried to get around the safety gates and lights. the float was made with a flat bed trailer with chairs for each of the veterans. in addition to the four deaths, others were injured. >> this may be one of the most tragic events we've had in our town and it's a sad day. i shook their hands and saw them personally, met their wives. it truly was an honor to be in their presence. these guys are true american heroes. >> secretary of defense leon panetta issued a statement saying he's deeply saddened. the ntsb is sending a team to

midland to investigate. today is the day former cia director david petraeus faces lawmakers. he's due to testify behind closed doors about the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benning aussie. there's no doubt he'll be asked about his extramarital affair. tracie potts is on capital hill for us with those details. >> reporter: good morning. we do know they are focusing on the attacks in benghazi. after three-hour briefing from the cia and fbi, today both the house and senate intelligence committees will hear from former cia director david petraeus. >> he interviewed many of the people as i understand it that were involved and so the opportunity to get his views, i think, is very important. >> reporter: the closed door hearing is not expected to get

into the affair that prompted petraeus to resign. the cia is now investigating whether he did anything wrong professionally. the fbi concluded it was a personal matter. >> we made the determination as we were going through the matter that there was not a threat to national security. >> reporter: petraeus testifies today on the deadly attacks that killed four americans in benghazi. thursday lawmakers saw a realtime video of that attack and got in a heated shouting match over whether united nations ambassador susan rice intentionally misled the public when she said it was spontaneous. >> this administration including the president himself has intentionally misinformed -- read that, lied, to the american people in the aftermath of this tragedy. >> if you want to know who is responsible in this town, buy yourself a mirror. >> petraeus could shed light on that today.

we may or may not find out exactly what he says. this is a closed hearing. both of them are. senate republicans and democrats on the intelligence committee say they'll have an open public hearing on benghazi later in a few weeks. tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thank you. well, for now for a look at weather. tracking some business stuff in the west. >> the west coast is a place where the storms are going to be. most won't even travel across the nation. they'll be just hitting the coast and weakening and next one will reload. we're watching this morning some light rain around los angeles. notice just green on the map shows light rain. the white is light snow. looks like you have to head up to tahoe here in the central portions of the sierra to get any snow at all. let's show you rainfall expectancy. the most concentrated rains will be in the higher elevations here but as far as san jose, san francisco, northward, you have a better chance of heavier rainfall amounts and near yosemite and higher elevations

we'll wring the moisture out. on and off showers in the forecast for everyone today. a bigger batch of rain will come into tomorrow. as far as what we're looking at on the map, here's the next impulse coming down in the jet stream. winds are fast. one behind that. this is the one we're dealing with currently. this will move onshore as we go throughout the day today. many areas yetting right lane in san francisco. you're one of those that through the peak of rush hour this morning i think you'll get a batch of steady rain heading over the top of you. hit and miss showers up to the northwest. that's a look at your >> three days in a row of chance of wet weather in los angeles. doesn't happen that often. it's a big deal. >> it is a big deal. thanks so much. >> thank you.

coming up, the justice department brings down the hammer on b.p. over the gulf oil spill. plus, 15 days after the storm, president obama returns to survey the damage and to lend some much needed emotional support. you're watching "early today."

well, here are some. stories making news this morning. b.p. has agreed to pay a record criminal penalty of $4.5 billion. attorney general eric holder says much of the money will be used to help restore the gulf. president obama got a firsthand look at hurricane sandy's disaster zones on new york's staten island on thursday. the president consoled grieving victims and vowed to stick with them. prosecutors in new york state are dropping drug possession charges against john bon jovi's 19-year-old daughter after measure her apparent heroin overdose. under state law she cannot be

prosecuted for possession. and some former first children gave a texas audience an inside look at life in the white house. jenna bush hager reveals about having her first kiss on the executive mansion's first rooftop. steve ford talked about his mother complaining about having to cook dinner on the night gerald ford was sworn in. let's take a check at wall street. the dow closed at 12,542 after losing 28 points yesterday. the s&p was down 2. the nasdaq fell 9. overseas had a better day. nikkei shot up 194 points. the hang seng gained 50. wall street will be watching today's first face-to-face fiscal cliff meeting. there's a lot at stake. the congressional budget office predicts a first half recession next year if the economy goes over the cliff. bowles tells maria why he thinks

there hasn't been a recession. >> the guys that are running for office worship that great god of re-election and haven't focused on what's right for the country. >> the average rate on a 30 year lone has dropped to 3.34%. that's the lowest since 1971. federal officials are investigating whether fedex and u.p.s. aided and abetted illegal drug sales from online pharmacies. both companies deny any wrongdoing. mcdonald's u.s. chief is stepping down due to unusually poor fast food sales. thousands of united aurls pass injuries were stranded thursday thanks to their third major computer glitch since june. a new survey says 86% of americans are buckling up today. that's a rise over last year. hostess is set to announce its next step this morning after threatening to close up shop if striking workers didn't return last night. >> luke skywalker and princess leia have earned a spot in the national toy hall of fame.

and frito lay is jacking up that snack with a jolt of caffeine equal to a can of coke. cracker jacked is set to hit shelves later this year. a little caffeine fix for you. "people" magazine weighs in on its sexiest athletes. we'll tell you who made the list. check this out. a policeman is inside his car when his dash cam captures this car barreling right toward him. details are next. you're watching "early today."

>> some other stories making news in america this morning. a dash cam captured one wisconsin police officer's brush with death during a routine traffic stop. the officer just returned to his car when that car barreled into his cruiser. amazingly everyone walked away with minor injuries. next to washington where seattle police launched a website for residents dazed and confused about what they can do once recreational use becomes legal. 55% of the state's voters passed a legal pot initiative this past election day. in virginia tragedy was averted when this 4-year-old little girl leapt into action to save her mom's life by calling 911. my mommy is having a seizure so i thought i could call you guys

and i am 4 and i call people and i really need you to help me. >> okay. your mommy's having a what? >> seizure. >> little jayla driver's mom had a history of seizures and her parents taught her how to help at an early age. and it worked. dreams of walking again finally came true for one ohio mom. the amazing fete came true when carolina hatten put on a wearable robot costing around $140,000. she became paralyzed from the waist down from a 2009 accident. the legs helped balance and shift weight. her next wish is to hold her 4-year-old son and be a normal mom. >> for thursday night football. bills, dolphins. buffalo opened the scoring with a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown and the bills defense held the dolphins to under 200 yards total offense for a 19-14 win. in the nba, the still undefeated new york knicks made

a dramatic fourth quarter comeback for a 104-100 win. in baseball, detroit's triple crown winner was named league mvp. buster posey was voted the national league's most valuable player. four athletes including the patriots tom brady made "people" magazine's list of sexy men. the other was mario chambers plus olympic speed skate r. and just an amazing soccer goal here. look at this as a swedish player made a stunning overhead bicycle kick, whoa, from 30 yards away in a mass against england to open its new national stadium. he celebrated by ripping his shirt off. looks excited. all right. just ahead, thousands more people across country are awake right now. is another breakup on the

horizon for the kardashians? why is vice president job moonlighting with amy?

welcome back to "early today." let me take you through your weekend forecast. unfortunately we have three little storms to deal with and one will come in each and every day. wet weather in the forecast around san francisco. hit and miss showers around central california. throughout saturday the majority of the rainfall appears to be in

the northern half of california coming into southern oregon. there's still a chance of showers everywhere. there's not a lot of cold air so snow levels are high in the mountains. only tallest peaks and higher ski resorts will get good snow out of this. through sunday it looks the same. majority of the rain will be saturday the wettest day in many areas. >> it's the end of an era at the box office. the film is expected to rake in over $150 million just this weekend. speaking of "twilight," the on and off relationship of kristen stewart and robert pattinson has been taking his toll on will ferrell. every day is different. it's a roller coaster of emotions. >> are they on or off? >> they're on. for will's sake we hope there's closure soon. for all of our sake's.

and the cast and crew of the big bang theory decided to surprise their producers with a "call me maybe" flash mob. the number was done in front of a live audience who had no idea it was coming. >> that was the number one show last week. news that chris and bruce jenner would get a divorce was quickly shut down by the kardashians. nbc's parks and rec featured vice president joe biden who after going over a scene had this to say. >> now i just want you to know, i'm going to make two major speeches, meet a couple of thousand people but it will be a hell of a lot easier than this. >> none other than that north korea supreme leader noting his chic fashion sense and famous smile who is "the onion's" most sexiest man alive. creative. >> it was creative.

out of the box. >> this comes to us from sanford, connecticut. a couple of extreme athletes attempted to make their mark on the eighth annual guinness world record today. michael went eight feet in the air to record the highest floored flip pogo stick jump. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

in france you better get your sweet tooth ready. a chocolatier, always ready, has

created a massive chocolate tree displaying his parisian boutique complete with, what else, a monkey. that makes sense, right? why not? it stands three stories tall and weighs in around five tons. the artist says the scene promotes biodiversity and he hopes it will raise awareness on habitats for other animals. >> what are they doing with the chocolate after. >> chocolate chip pancakes. lace up and set out. it is time to set a few more records across the globe more than 400,000 people took part in the eighth annual guinness world record days. among other winners, 28 women in london squeezed their way into first place for the most people crammed into a mini cooper. over in australia a 15-year-old boy took the win for the longest note held on a didierido. >> don't worry, no one knows how it sounds. >> thank you. just in time for the breaking down premiere, madame tussauds' revealed the wax figure. "twilight" wearwolf is now a wax

figure. members of team jacob kissed, clawed, grabbed the wax figure saying it's almost as good as the real thing. we need to send these people to some therapy. the girls were more curious, however, to see his trademark abs under the suit. >> that's crazy. >> the six pack. >> team jacob. >> that's what you're on? >> i had to say something. i have to participate. >> time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. president obama is set to meet with congressional leaders of both parties at the white house. on thursday republican mitch mcconnell called the president's proposal to bring in $1.6 trillion in tax revenue a joke. a report due out today predicts the cash strapped federal housing administration will need bailout from the u.s. treasury for the first time in

its 78-year history and happy birthday to baggy. she turns 35 today. you can stay on top of the latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc and tonight be sure to watch "nbc news with brian williams." here's a look at what's coming up later today on the "today" show. lauren scruggs opens up to savannah about life after the propeller accident that almost killed her. keep it on this channel follow continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. have a great weekend.

new this morning, air raid